Chapter 40: Mixed signals

He blushes again, even brighter than before, and looks away from me. “Maybe I should,” he says. “I mean, that’s why we’re here, right?” His voice sounds weak, forced. Like he doesn’t want to say this, but he feels like he should.

“We could get coffee instead,” I say. Oh, crap. I forgot. He doesn’t drink coffee. “Or you know, just something to drink.”

He lets out a breath like a man who had been pardoned while they buckled him into the chair. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he looks relieved. “Sure,” he says. “I’d love to get something to drink.”

“Can we go somewhere else, though?” I ask. “Somewhere that won’t have us getting interrupted by fans every few minutes?” I remember our talk last night. I don’t want to have that happen right when the conversation starts getting interested. Not again.

He smiles. Is he relieved? “Sure.”